The spare-part baby boom, as MPs review test-tube laws

The creation of "spare part babies" could become more widespread following a report from MPs.

Their recommendations could lead to a rise in screening of test tube embryos to identify suitable donors for desperately sick brothers or sisters.

At the moment parents are usually only allowed to create such babies, also known as "saviour siblings" to save the life of another child.

But a joint committee of MPs and Lords is expected to argue that the technique should help conditions that are not immediately life-threatening such as sickle-cell anaemia.

The technique involves fertilising half a dozen egg cells in a test tube and scanning the resulting embryos to find the most suitable tissue match for the sibling. Once that baby is born, blood from the umbilical cord is used to treat the other child.

The decision about whether to allow embryo screening is currently made on individual cases by the fertility regulator. But the joint committee is expected to argue that uses of the technique should be widened, and take into account developments in stem cell research.

Any move to make it easier to create a saviour sibling will anger campaigners who argue that genetic screening of embryos for "useful attributes" turns children into commodities.

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, says it is wrong to conceive babies in order to treat another family member. "This is putting one human life at the disposal of another," she said.

The committee was set up to scrutinise the Human Tissues and Embryos Bill drafted earlier this year. This proposed a single body to regulate fertility treatment and the storing and use of human tissue in labs and hospitals.

The committee is expected to rule that this "super watchdog" would lack expertise and put patient safety at risk.